


meringue time!!

by fruti2flutie



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Fluff, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-07 04:44:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11616129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fruti2flutie/pseuds/fruti2flutie
Summary: Woojin should've known he was missing something. A few things. A lot of things. Baking and decorating cakes aren't the only things that matter in life, he realizes, because he's been way too clueless for way too long.(aka jinseob in the most cliché bakery au feat. euinyeon, baehwi, dongponyo & various implied others)





	meringue time!!

**Author's Note:**

> -anyone who talks gets tagged as a character  
> -i don't believe in sadness  
> -this is 16k too long  
> -#What_Is_Plot  
> -this took like a month but i only read it over once, so it probably has mistakes everywhere that i'll fix later lmao it's 3AM & this is my 3rd time trying to post this (and lmao its still not showing up in the tags rip hopefully it works by morning)  
> -enjoy at ur own risk
> 
> -[vietnamese translation!](https://my.w.tt/UiNb/Ax5B6qbK2N)

Woojin has never been the best at expressing his inner thoughts and feelings. He’s the type to keep to himself and get things done, no questions asked. That’s been his way of life since he was a kid, and now that he’s graduated culinary school and runs his own bakery, which is almost half a year old, not much has changed at all.

He can’t take all the credit for himself. Close friends Donghyun and Youngmin are responsible for the business side of things, crunching numbers and making sure they’re never in the red. (One month they _had_ gone negative, but that was because they had to remodel the kitchen after a pipe leak. Nobody’s fault, but Woojin has one eye on the pizzera down the road.) Daehwi, Haknyeon, and Euiwoong are classmates from culinary school who work with him in the kitchen. All of them are creative minds, making new recipes and designs. Daehwi’s a big fan of white chocolate drizzles, Euiwoong works best with fondant, and Haknyeon is famous for his sugar work.

And then there’s what Woojin likes to call the “people crew” — Sewoon, Jihoon, and Hyungseob. The three make up the team of “charmers,” as Euiwoong puts it, their schedules sporadically set throughout the week. Usually, Sewoon handles taking orders from the phone, Jihoon is in charge of deliveries, and Hyungseob takes walk-ins at the register. Sewoon is friends with Youngmin and Donghyun, which is how he got the job. Jihoon and Haknyeon are family friends. Hyungseob is neighbors with Euiwoong.

The “people crew” don’t interact that frequently with the bakers during the work day. Almost all of them are or have become friends outside of the bakery, which is nice for after hour drinks and party purposes. Woojin isn’t one to start conversations with them, but he gets along with them well enough. He likes observing.

Hyungseob doesn’t go into the kitchen often. Woojin assumes it’s because he’s always in front of the cash register, taking orders and requests, busy tending to customers. That’s why, whenever there is a lapse of downtime amidst the ovens, Woojin will peek out the door to see how Hyungseob’s doing. He’s always content when he hears Hyungseob laugh, even more content when Hyungseob turns back to catch his eye and wave, too.

Is that normal?

Probably not. Woojin doesn’t think it too much. He’s got cakes to bake.

——

The time comes for Hyungseob to join Woojin in the kitchen on a rainy Monday morning, in mid-spring, months after Sparrow first opened its doors. Hyungseob had gotten to the bakery early, beating the downpour, and is the only one in the building with Woojin.

“If you come anywhere near me, I will set you on fire.” Hyungseob stares at his hands, resembling a person who has just been told to explain the theory of relativity in ten words or less. He looks up at Woojin, pupils shaking frantically. “This is not a threat, but a warning. I am a danger to the kitchen. I’m not even allowed in my _own_ kitchen. Who put me here?”

Woojin sets three cartons of eggs on the tabletop. “I did. Haknyeon and Euiwoong are running late. Daehwi’s visiting his mom in the U.S. There’s an order supposed to go out by ten, so we need to get as much done as possible.” He puts out a few bowls for Hyungseob and hands him an egg. “All you’re doing is cracking some of these.”

Hyungseob takes it, smiling unsurely. “You ask so much of me.” He attempts to crack the egg on the edge of the bowl, but it crumbles to pieces and oozes slimily onto the table. His smile stays, sadly, regrettably. “I didn’t mean to do that, but it was timed perfectly.”

Before another egg can be destroyed, Woojin walks over to Hyungseob and lends him a rag to clean the counter. “Let me help,” he says. “It’s not that hard.”

Hyungseob watches with pouted lips as Woojin cracks three eggs into the bowl in quick succession. The yolks are perfectly shaped, no stray eggshells in sight. Woojin tosses the empty eggshells into the trash behind him, not even checking to see if they make it in. (They do.)

“Says the guy who’s been baking since he was in the single digits and now owns a hugely successful bakery.” Woojin looks up at this remark, taken aback, and Hyungseob huffs, “These are the facts, Boss.”

“Practice makes perfect,” Woojin says. “For you to get better, you need more practice. Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

Hyungseob doesn’t look impressed. “We’re in the heart of Seoul, so the European metaphors don’t work on me. Also, need I remind you that I man the register, literally thirty feet from the kitchen.” He sighs. “I’m a cashier, not a baker. Cracking eggs isn’t a relevant skill on my resumé.”

Woojin, despite himself, snorts. He opens a drawer and takes out a whisk, holding it out to Hyungseob like he’d done with the egg. “Can you whisk the eggs for me, then? Our automatic mixer is busted.”

The expression on Hyungseob’s face can only be described as defeated. “I can _try_.” He takes the whisk, gripping it firmly, and starts to beat the eggs. He exhales loudly when he realizes it’s not physically possible for this to catch fire.

Something Woojin realizes very quickly is that there is a very apparent air of awkwardness. Woojin has barely held together one conversation with Hyungseob, let alone had one in his sacred sanctum (aka kitchen). Normally, Daehwi brings his Bluetooth speaker to the bakery to play music, so there isn’t ever true quiet. Haknyeon oftentimes tries to sing over the songs, which makes Daehwi throw spoons at him and Euiwoong stick his head in one of the fridges. Woojin is used to that chaos, working amongst it, but with Hyungseob? He hasn’t got a clue where to start.

“How... How’s your week been so far?”

“Hm?” Hyungseob looks up. “It’s Monday, Woojin. And it’s eight a.m.” Woojin mentally berates himself for asking, but Hyungseob grins broadly. “I think it’s going nicely, though. Today was the first time you texted me!”

Woojin blinks. “I’ve... texted before.” He passes the bowl of egg whites to Hyungseob, giving him a new whisk as he takes the bowl of beaten eggs from him.

“The bakery crew group chat doesn’t count,” Hyungseob says.

“Ah.”

With that in mind, Hyungseob is right. Woojin has never gone out of his way to text Hyungseob. It had taken him a whole month to save Hyungseob’s number into his phone after the bakery group chat was formed by Daehwi. Out of all the workers in the bakery, Woojin has had the least personal interaction with Hyungseob. With Sewoon, since he’s around the apartment he shares with Youngmin, Donghyun, and Daehwi so often, Woojin is used to him. With Jihoon, Haknyeon gets him to run little errands for the bakers so he’s met with Woojin a number of times. Hyungseob is...

Well, Hyungseob is there. That rubs Woojin the wrong way for some reason. He’s frowning before he even realizes it.

“I don’t know a lot about you, Woojin,” Hyungseob announces suddenly.

“I don’t like talking about myself,” Woojin responds. He’s mixing all the ingredients together for custard, but he’s not as focused as he should be. The custard recipe isn’t difficult, so he finds himself staring at the stiffening meringue Hyungseob is making for the macarons. It distracts him for so long he almost forgets to preheat the oven.

“You say that now, but I’m pretty sure you know I’m gonna make you talk about yourself.” Hyungseob grins, even as Woojin grimaces. “Let’s start with the basics! What’s your full name?”

“Park Woojin. You don’t know that?”

“ _Basics_. Of course I know that! I just wanted to hear you say it.” Hyungseob taps the end of his whisk on his chin. “Age? Birthday? Hometown?”

Woojin separates several more egg yolks and egg whites for Hyungseob to whisk in another bowl. He takes the ready meringue from Hyungseob and starts adding dry ingredients for the macaron batter. “Almost twenty-five. November 2nd. Born and raised in Busan.”

“That’s obvious,” Hyungseob murmurs. Woojin makes a face, confused. “Your accent! And you have that tough guy, ‘doesn’t deal with feelings’ feel.”

“I... guess?”

Hyungseob laughs. “I’m actually the same age as you. I’m born in August!” Woojin nods. There’s really no point of him nodding, but he is. “Do have any hobbies outside of baking?”

Woojin gets the macaron batter into a piping bag, carefully piping it onto the parchment paper. It’s soft pink, with hints of rose. “I like dancing,” he says quietly. It’s not something he readily admits. If he hadn’t become a baker, he would’ve loved becoming a professional dancer.

“Really? Me too!” Hyungseob exclaims. He quiets down, realizing how loud he’d been, bashful. “Dancing has always been fun for me. I’m part of a studio across town. We do competitions every few months.”

“That’s cool,” Woojin marvels, and he means it.

The topic spurs a discussion about favorite choreographers and choreographies, dance genres and music preferences. Hyungseob makes three more bowls of meringue, and Woojin makes three more macaron batters. Woojin pipes out the black sesame, raspberry, and mocha macaron shells. Every now and then, Hyungseob will just comment how cool it is to see Woojin’s handiwork up close. Woojin does his best to stay modest and not let the praise go to his head.

When the shells are set out to air dry, he moves onto readying the fillings while Hyungseob talks. He’s got a lot to say, and it’s a little overwhelming for someone who doesn’t talk as much. Woojin listens, watches Hyungseob’s eyes light up as he tells a story, smiles when Hyungseob smiles. He takes out the custards from the oven to cool, listening intently as Hyungseob recounts having to improvise in the middle of a routine when he’d twisted his ankle. Far too soon, the kitchen door is opening with two soaked bakers coming inside.

“Guess who’s out of weekend traffic!” cheers Haknyeon, grabbing spare towels from under a cabinet. He hands one to Euiwoong, wiping himself off. “Wait, it’s not the weekend.”

“Welcome to work,” greets Woojin. Hyungseob leans on the counter and waves. “Don’t track in mud. Don’t get the macarons wet.”

Euiwoong chuckles, drying his hair. “Well, sorry we’re late. The rain was unbelievable.” He glances at Hyungseob, raising an eyebrow. “Fancy seeing you here, hyung. I thought you were allergic to kitchen supplies.”

Hyungseob lets out a dry laugh. “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. Whatever pays the rent.” He stands up, humming. “I guess I’ll set up the shop for opening.”

“Off our turf,” Haknyeon snickers playfully. Euiwoong nudges him.

Woojin catches Hyungseob’s sleeve before he can get very far. “Thanks for all the help,” he says. “And for... the company. It was nice.”

Hyungseob beams, “Any time, Boss.” He skips out of the kitchen, Woojin watching his back as he goes.

“Interesting,” Euiwoong hums. Woojin looks at him and frowns. Euiwoong offers no explanation for the comment. He points to the trays and says, “I think the macarons are ready to go into the oven.”

“Oh,” Woojin says. “Thanks.” Euiwoong smiles at him, a bit unsettlingly, as he goes with Haknyeon to the bathroom to dry off.

Weird.

——

A week later, when Daehwi returns from America, the kitchen returns to its usual liveliness. Music hums in the background, Euiwoong is constantly scolding Haknyeon, and everything is back to normal. All the cakes and pastries have been prepared for the day, so the bakers are focusing on decorating. Woojin is working on a crumb coat when Daehwi sidles up to him, mischievous grin on his face.

“You like him, don’t you?”

Woojin’s hands pause. There is Crayon Pop playing. There is also confusion. “What.”

“What?” Daehwi says. He’s holding onto a jar of edible glitter, shaking it as he speaks. “You _like_ him,” he drawls, “don’t you?”

“I don’t know why you’re repeating yourself.”

“Because you’re in denial,” Haknyeon interjects, passing by as he carries a box of frosted cupcakes. Daehwi glares at him. “Sorry, I just wanted to be included. Carry on.” He scurries away.

Woojin shakes his head. “I really don’t know what you guys are talking about.”

Youngmin, who’d been readying for a nap on the counter, hides a snort into his arms. “You’ll literally have to spell it out to get him to realize. That’s cheating,” he says. “Woojinnie has never been good with words or people.”

“Spell out _what_.”

Daehwi gives Woojin an unimpressed look, the one where he slumps his shoulders and cocks an eyebrow. Woojin doesn’t like that look. Also, Woojin doesn’t know why Youngmin is in here. He’s on payroll and accounting.

“Forget I said anything,” Daehwi coos, patting Woojin’s head. He walks across the kitchen, back to his own station, and starts decorating a cheesecake with pinches of glitter. Youngmin lays his head down, shutting his eyes, and Woojin can hear Jihoon screech from the room over.

Seriously, everyone is so weird these days.

——

Things start to change drastically when Woojin catches Haknyeon and Euiwoong together in the storage room. More specifically, Woojin catches Haknyeon and Euiwoong together doing things in the storage room that would surely disappoint Donghyun’s pastor.

“I’m,” Woojin starts, hand on the door handle, unable to meet eyes with the two males. His face is heating up at an alarming rate, from faint pink to scarlet in seconds. When he’d first opened the door he saw Haknyeon’s hands clasped onto Euiwoong’s collar, Euiwoong’s cherry lip balm smeared on his chin, and Euiwoong’s arms wrapped around Haknyeon’s waist. A compromising position, far too intimate for Woojin to witness with his own innocent eyes. He coughs. “I’m gonna. Go now. To the kitchen.”

“Okay,” squeaks Haknyeon. Euiwoong has yet to move a muscle.

Woojin turns to leave, but then he remembers his main point of coming here. “I’m,” he starts again, and both the bakers widen their eyes at him. “I’m gonna need almond flour.”

Euiwoong reaches around Haknyeon to take the box off the shelf. He hands it to Woojin, wary.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah,” Euiwoong says.

Quietly closing the door, Woojin wanders back to the kitchen. He uses the almond flour for his coconut-flavored macaron batter, piping out the shells and staring at them blankly as they air dry. Daehwi passes by, brows furrowed, but doesn’t bother him. He grabs a few sticks of butter from the fridge, pats Woojin on the back, and figures Woojin will work out his own problems. Eventually, Haknyeon and Euiwoong return to the kitchen, too, much more put together than they’d been in the storeroom. Woojin takes that as his cue to stick the macaron trays into the ovens and scurry to the front of the shop.

What scares Woojin the most about this accident is that he’s never expected it to happen. Euiwoong and Haknyeon? Sure, they’ve known one another for years, but Woojin has never pictured them in a romantic relationship. It’s... weird. Strange. Different. Woojin isn’t used to different. Woojin isn’t _good_ with different.

“You look like you just saw a ghost,” Hyungseob comments, sitting behind the register, breaking Woojin’s aggressive train of thought. He sobers up when Woojin doesn’t laugh. “Oh, you seriously looked spooked. Are you okay?”

Woojin goes through an extensive number of expressions, but he settles for shaking his head. He takes a seat when Hyungseob offers the chair next to him. Woojin sits, hands between his legs, stare empty.

“I was traumatized,” he mumbles.

Hyungseob scrunches his eyebrows. “Like, legitimately or exaggeratedly?” He scoots his chair closer to Woojin. “Trauma is a very serious issue, Woojinnie.”

Oh. Woojin is used to hearing that nickname with the others, but this is the first time Hyungseob has ever said it. Despite the grave implications preceding it, the way Hyungseob says his name causes a fluttering feeling in his chest. He coughs to get it out. Allergies, probably.

“It feels legitimate,” he says. “I dunno.”

“Tell me what happened. It’s always better to speak what you’re feeling. Bottling up emotions is bad.” Hyungseob straightens. “Go on. Pretend I’m your therapist.”

Clearly, Woojin isn’t the best with that concept. Explaining with words. Emoting. He struggles, even with close friends and family, but this incident has him so rattled he decides to give it a try with Hyungseob. If anything, Hyungseob won’t hold what he says against him. Not like Daehwi or Jihoon would. Hopefully, at least, since Hyungseob is in Therapist Mode.

“I... saw Euiwoong and Haknyeon. Together.”

“Okay,” Hyungseob says, waiting for Woojin to go on, but he doesn’t. “They both work here and live together, too. That’s nothing out of the ordinary. Seeing them together, I mean.”

“This was...” Woojin trails off, voice strained. He can’t find the right word for it. Personal? Unexpected? Intimate? He shakes his head, trying to suppress the cursed image that comes to mind. “Something else.”

“How so?”

“I think—” Woojin looks down at his hands. His voice grows quiet. “I think they’re dating.”

It’s Hyungseob’s turn to go silent. When Woojin spares him a glance, he appears completely unfazed. Actually, he looks more confused than shocked. Huh.

“You didn’t know that?”

Woojin gapes. “Was I _supposed_ to?”

Hyungseob purses his lips. Instead of responding, he asks instead, “Why would that be traumatizing?”

Shifting uncomfortably, Woojin shrugs. “Because,” he says. He twiddles his thumbs in his lap. “I think they were— they were making out. In the storeroom. I walked in, accidentally. It was like seeing your parents get cozy.” He whimpers. “All I wanted was almond flour.”

“I see.” Hyungseob pats Woojin on the shoulder soothingly. “You should talk this out with them.”

“I’m not good at that. Confrontation.”

“I can help,” Hyungseob offers. “I like talking.”

Woojin musters a smile. It can’t be so bad, right?

“Okay.”

——

“This is an intervention, hosted by Park Woojin, for Park Woojin,” Hyungseob introduces, standing in the front of the room, hands put together at the front of his stomach. “I am the guest speaker, Ahn Hyungseob. Everyone, please be civil.”

“No one knows why we’re here,” Haknyeon pipes up, sitting on the floor between Euiwoong’s legs, who sits on the couch. Jihoon, opening and closing all the cabinets in the kitchen, concurs.

The bakery crew is gathered in Woojin’s apartment that he shares with Donghyun, Youngmin, and Daehwi. Hyungseob had called them all together after work, with Woojin’s permission. There had been no explanation, but everyone trusts Hyungseob and hadn’t questioned his motives at the time. They’ve all been to the apartment before, so they find themselves in similar positions. Euiwoong, Donghyun, Sewoon, and Youngmin fit on one couch. Haknyeon and Daehwi are on the floor, and Jihoon joins them with a bag of dried mangoes in his lap.

Woojin stands beside Hyungseob, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He’s nervous, but Hyungseob puts a delicate hand on his back and Woojin’s nerves calm slightly. Together, they stand in front of the TV, in front of the rest of their friends. Woojin feels like he needs a set of notecards to read off of.

“I live here,” Youngmin declares.

Daehwi huffs sarcastically, “Thank you, Youngmin hyung.” He leans forward, narrowing his eyes at Woojin. “Is this about your missing shirt, Woojin hyung? The washing machine devoured it whole, I swear. I don’t even know what it looks like.”

“This is about—” Woojin clears his throat, “—my inattentiveness.”

Somebody snorts. Somebody is Sewoon. “Woojin realizing how bad he is at picking up cues? The irony is thick.”

“What spurred this whole intervention?” Donghyun asks.

Woojin swallows. Hyungseob gives him another light pat. “I discovered, against my will, that— that Euiwoong and Haknyeon are dating,” he proclaims. He’s met with bored stares, mostly from said couple.

“How long has it been?” Jihoon inquires, but his question isn’t directed at Woojin. He looks to the rest of the group, leering.

“Eight months,” says Donghyun. Woojin frowns.

Jihoon jumps to his feet. “Who had eight months? I said eleven!”

Euiwoong sifts his fingers through Haknyeon’s hair, laughing. “We said five.”

“I was out at six,” Youngmin sighs.

“Nine,” Daehwi croons. “I’m the closest! What are my winnings?”

Jihoon walks around, dried mangoes under his arm, and starts to collect various items from the other guys. He passes what he has to Daehwi and says, “Four coupons for Starbucks, a free vanilla cone at McDonald’s, three stray buttons, and 7,000 Won. Congratulations!”

“Nice!” yells Daehwi.

“Eight... months,” Woojin echoes hollowly.

“That’s how long we’ve been dating,” Haknyeon explains brightly.

“You’ve been dating for _eight months_ ,” Woojin gawks. “It’s only been half a year since we opened the bakery!” He glares at the rest of them, minus Hyungseob. “And you _bet_ on when I was gonna find out?”

Daehwi scrambles up and holds Woojin by the shoulders. “We swear, this is the only ongoing bet. We would never hide anything from you intentionally.” He pauses. “Wait. You know that I’m dating Jinyoung, right?”

Woojin’s jaw drops. “Is that why you always give him discounts?” he asks, deadpan. Daehwi lets out a hysterical, despondent laugh as he sits back down. “That wasn’t an answer.”

“Oh, Woojinnie.” Donghyun shakes his head. “It’s been four months for them. You’re late to the party.”

“This, my friends, is why Park Woojin wanted to have this intervention,” Hyungseob announces. “Any information you believe is common knowledge between us workers, please disclose now. For the sake of our dear boss and his sanity.”

Euiwoong raises his hand. “Does that include—”

“That does _not_ include whatever you’re about to say, Euiwoong, but I’m glad you asked.” Hyungseob smiles. “Anyone else?”

“I’m not dating Youngmin hyung,” Sewoon says. Woojin exhales, relieved. “I’m dating Donghyun.” Woojin promptly chokes.

“Two years,” Donghyun says proudly, taking Sewoon’s hand. Sewoon smiles.

“D-Do you just know when _everyone_ started dating, Donghyun hyung? Why is _everyone_ dating anyway?” Woojin stammers.

Donghyun shrugs. “I’d hope that I at least knew my own anniversary.”

“The question is, why aren’t _you_ dating?” Haknyeon challenges. It earns a disapproving glare from Woojin but interest from nearly everyone else.

Woojin coughs. “I— I don’t like anyone like that,” he says. Beside him, Hyungseob makes a face. It’s probably because Jihoon looks really unattractive trying to eat mango slices with both hands. “Is there stuff that I don’t know that’s _not_ about anyone’s dating life?”

“I hate eggplants,” Daehwi offers.

“I knew that.”

“I stole a pig from my family’s farm once,” Haknyeon says.

“I knew that. Legendary story, by the way.”

“I’ve been flirting with the delivery boy from the pizzeria,” Jihoon reveals.

Woojin gasps. “Samuel? How dare you betray the bakery!” He nods, accepting it. “Okay, thanks for telling me.”

Youngmin adds, “My family owns a tomato farm.”

“I knew that,” Woojin says.

“I can play the guitar,” Sewoon declares.

“I knew that. Everyone knows that.”

Euiwoong rubs his chin, curious. “Haknyeon and I left early last week for our eight-month anniversary dinner.”

Woojin frowns. “I thought you had a doctor’s appointment.” Haknyeon raises an eyebrow. “What? You guys go to the same doctor.” He stops. “Wait.”

“There is a _very_ obvious trend here,” Daehwi says. “It can’t just be me seeing it.”

Since Woojin is unable to pick up what Daehwi is insinuating, Donghyun proclaims, “Woojinnie, you’re bad at detecting stuff about love — romance. You seem perfectly fine in all other fields.”

Woojin purses his lips. “Huh. Thanks for telling me.”

“You’re like a robot,” Haknyeon snickers. “Do you have a heart in that tin can?”

Woojin reddens. “I’ve— I’ve liked plenty of people before!” he exclaims. Euiwoong snorts.

Hyungseob claps his hands, bringing everyone’s attention on him. “If that’s all, I think we can end the intervention here.”

“This wasn’t even a real intervention,” Jihoon mutters, chewing on a mango piece.

“Yeah, well, that’s not your real hair color, but you don’t see me pointing it out.”

Jihoon places his hand on his chest. “Ouch,” he says. “That hurt.” He touches the ends of his hair, pouting. “I like this color, too.”

“What happened to being civil?” scoffs Youngmin.

“Never quote me,” Hyungseob retorts.

“While everyone’s here,” Daehwi interrupts, “should we order some food? I’m starving. I could go for some Chinese.”

“We can spend dinner telling Woojin about our love lives,” Sewoon suggests. Euiwoong high-fives him.

“Hey, wait a sec,” Woojin says. “Does that mean that every time I go out with Euiwoong and Haknyeon, Daehwi and Jinyoung, or Sewoon and Donghyun, I’m third-wheeling?”

Hyungseob gives him a one-armed hug. “You’ve been so unaware,” he sighs. “To think, I only met everyone when I started working at the bakery, thanks to Euiwoong, but I might know more about them than you.”

Woojin pinches the bridge of his nose. He’s not looking forward to hearing about the “how we got together” stories and whatnot from his friends. It’s necessary, though, because it’s honestly ridiculous how he’s gone up to _two years_ oblivious of his friends dating. And they hadn’t even hidden it! Daehwi is constantly clinging to Jinyoung. Donghyun always gives Sewoon the best parts of barbeque. Euiwoong and Haknyeon come to the bakery hand-in-hand every day! For Woojin not to suspect anything...

Wow, he’s seriously a terrible friend.

“You’re not,” Hyungseob whispers to him as Donghyun and Sewoon bicker over where they had their first date. (Movie theater? Aquarium? Riverwalk?) “Just because you didn’t know doesn’t mean you weren’t there for them.”

“Thanks,” Woojin mumbles back. Hyungseob takes a dumpling from Woojin’s container, and Woojin doesn’t have it in him to mind. Hyungseob has earned it and, to be honest, deserves it.

——

With the knowledge that the close people in his life are dating, Woojin becomes extremely cautious at the bakery. He knocks on the storeroom before entering, escapes conversations that could lead him to him being a third-wheel. Whenever a couple is considerably close together, Woojin makes an effort to stay at least ten feet away. The other bakers find his behavior unnecessary, but Woojin can’t trust them. Everyone is dating, which means they can’t comprehend Woojin’s single-living mindset.

The whole revelation gets him to hang around Hyungseob more. Aside from Youngmin, he’s the only other single guy in the bakery. Whenever there’s downtime in the kitchen, Woojin will sneak out and sit next to Hyungseob at the register and chat. They talk about all kinds of things, but it usually circles back to dancing or strange things Hyungseob’s roommates do. (Zhengting and Justin, foreigners from China, are quite the characters.) Hyungseob has made a point to keep a sign on the chair that reads _Boss_ in bubble letters.

Today is a slow Thursday. Haknyeon and Euiwoong have gone out for lunch. Daehwi had left early to visit Jinyoung at his office. Sewoon and Jihoon are out doing a delivery. Youngmin and Donghyun are typing up reports.

Woojin hangs at the register with Hyungseob, watching him speak to customers and complete transactions. Between them is a plate of sugar cookies that they’ve been snacking on for the better part of the hour.

One customer comes in around four p.m. He’s tall, dressed casually, wearing a backpack. He strolls around the bakery, never once greeting the two males at the counter, his eyes focused on the display cases and containers of sweets. Hyungseob and Woojin keep their conversation hushed.

“He’s been loitering for fifteen minutes,” Hyungseob says worriedly. “Do you think I should go talk to him?”

Woojin shrugs. “It wouldn’t hurt.”

“Come with me,” Hyungseob urges.

“What? Why?” Woojin has half a sugar cookie in his mouth and crumbs along his lips. It’s not an ideal look for a customer or anyone, really, to see.

“Talking practice!” Hyungseob exclaims, grinning.

“I _talk_ to people,” Woojin argues. Hyungseob raises an eyebrow.

“When was the last time you interacted with a customer, hm?”

That’s... a good point. When faced with such a situation Woojin makes a point to shove the social duties onto Daehwi or Euiwoong, the eloquent speakers. If they’re not around, he’ll search for Haknyeon or even the non-bakers. The last time Woojin had spoken to a customer, it had probably been in the bakery’s first week of business to say, “Good job.” Swayed, Woojin wipes at his mouth and follows Hyungseob to the customer.

Hyungseob taps the customer on the shoulder. The boy turns, eyes blinking quickly. He’s taller up close, with sharp features and a curl to his lips.

“Welcome to Sparrow!” Hyungseob greets. “Do you need any help choosing anything?” He nudges Woojin to say something.

“Uh,” Woojin says. “Macarons are good.” He coughs. “Tasty.” Hyungseob pats him on the back for trying.

The customer grins widely. “Hello! Sorry I didn’t say anything sooner. I was focused on all the options. There are so many!”

“Are you hosting a party?” Hyungseob asks. “Or will it be just a snack for yourself?”

“Snack for me,” the customer replies. “I was thinking of a cake. No cheese, though. Cheese is weird, if it’s not on a pizza.”

Hyungseob leads the customer to the cake display case, which is against the wall, the lights shining on the freshly made cake slices of the day. Woojin follows behind, watching the customer’s face as he admires the confectionaries. As a baker, one of his favorite things is to see how people react to his creations.

“There are three different types,” Hyungseob begins. “There are the fruit-based kinds, chocolate, nuts. Cake slices are about one-sixteenth of a cake, to give you an estimate on how big it is.”

The customer hums thoughtfully. “I think I want a cake. One cake. For me. Blueberry sounds promising. Do you have that?”

Woojin hasn’t had a customer who ever wanted a whole cake for himself. A cake is, well, large. It normally takes the whole bakery crew to finish a single tier cake. Hyungseob looks taken aback, too.

“What are you,” Woojin blurts.

Hyungseob hits him. “Woojinnie!” he hisses. “That’s _rude_.”

Woojin rubs the spot where Hyungseob hit, frowning. He guesses that he and Hyungseob have reached the “playfully hitting one another” stage in their friendship. Is it weird that that makes him a little happy?

The customer doesn’t look offended at Woojin’s comment, chuckling and sticking out a hand as he says, “Yoo Seonho, the pleasure is all mine.” He shakes both Woojin’s and Hyungseob’s hands, grip firm. “I just moved into town and this bakery has the best reviews. I had to see for myself!” He grins. “Is the whole cake okay?”

“Yeah,” Woojin says hurriedly. “Hold on.” He makes his way to the kitchen, but Seonho’s voice stops him.

“Actually!” Seonho places his hand on his cheek. “Can I get a strawberry one, too? And, hm... A box of macarons, one of every flavor, and a batch of cookies? Double chocolate chip.”

Woojin and Hyungseob exchange concerned gazes. Woojin shrugs, after a few seconds of silence, and nods.

“Okay, um. This might take some time. It’ll take at least an hour and a half for everything.”

“I can wait,” Seonho proclaims brightly. Hyungseob makes a distressed face, and Woojin bites back a snort. “Thank you!”

When the other bakers hear Seonho’s request from Woojin, Daehwi nearly drops his bowl of meringue and Haknyeon trips over a fallen bag of flour. They get to working, whisking and rolling dough at record speed. Over half of the macaron shells are finished, but the rest are still baking. Woojin works on the jams and ganaches for the fillings. An entire blueberry cake is chilling in the fridge, so Haknyeon is furiously making the strawberry one, forgoing his fanciful sugar work. Daehwi and Euiwoong are tag-teaming for the cookies.

There are still other customers that come to the bakery, but they order items that are already on display. Hyungseob cares for them, with Seonho lounging by the counter, examining him like a baby hawk. It’s mildly unsettling, especially when Seonho enjoys clinging to Hyungseob’s arm when he’s pressing buttons on the register. When Woojin comes out, panting, hands covered in cocoa nibs and raspberry seeds, Hyungseob jumps to his feet and beams.

Seonho takes all his sweets, somehow carrying four giant boxes in one to-go bag. He pays for the food with his credit card, which has a cute design of Mickey Mouse on it. He waves goodbye and ends up leaving close to closing time, promising to come back soon. When the door closes, both Hyungseob and Woojin sigh.

“He was... different,” Woojin says. He sits in the Boss chair and slumps. “Do you get people like that all the time?”

Hyungseob laughs. “No, not at all. A person like Seonho is a rare occurrence in the bakery.” He looks Woojin up and down, smiling. “I think you need a napkin, Boss.”

Woojin rolls his eyes. He rubs off his jammy finger on Hyungseob’s shirt before sprinting back to the kitchen, Hyungseob sputtering and trying to chase after him. It’s dangerous, running around in the kitchen, and Euiwoong is shouting at them to watch out for the knives. Woojin and Hyungseob are careful enough, though, and don’t get stabbed.

Later, when Woojin tells Donghyun and Youngmin about it during the car ride home, they say “not getting stabbed” is not something to be excited about.

——

Every Wednesday morning, the whole bakery crew meets in the office space (also known as Donghyun and Youngmin’s domain, with two desks with computers and one large table) to discuss any concerns about deliveries, stock, and whatnot. Woojin is sleepy, having stayed up late to finish an order that has to be delivered in half an hour, so he claps his hands twice to get everything started. His hope is that the meeting takes two minutes and he’ll get to sleep for the remaining twenty-eight before the bakery opens.

“Who’s going first? We’re burnin’ daylight.”

Raising his hand high Daehwi spins in Youngmin’s chair, Youngmin holding onto the armrests when Daehwi spins too fast.

“Go, Daehwi.”

“Okay, so remember that tall guy who bought two whole cakes, one box of cookies, and three cartons of macarons all for himself last week?”

“Seonho,” Hyungseob says, nodding. “His number is saved in the system now. Why?”

“Turns out he’s a famous food broadcaster,” Daehwi declares, hitting his hands on the desk dramatically, “ _and_ he advertized our bakery on his stream! How cool is that!?”

“That explains why it’s been so busy these last few days,” Haknyeon says. “Me and Euiwoong couldn’t even sneak into the storeroom to—” Euiwoong, ears red, hits him in the stomach. “Oh, no, nothing. I didn’t say anything. Nice advertizing.”

“Good job, Seonho,” coughs Euiwoong. Sewoon raises his hand up for a high-five, and Euiwoong reluctantly gives it to him.

“So... is there a problem?” Donghyun asks.

“We’ve got an order to deliver,” Daehwi states.

Woojin nods. It’s his order. “And? Where’s Jihoon?” He looks around the group and realizes that he’s the only one missing. That’s unusual. Woojin must’ve been too eager to get the meeting started that he forgot to take a headcount.

Sewoon stands and sighs heavily, bowing his head. “Jihoon is dead.” Immediately, a stack of Post-It's is thrown at him. He looks to see who’d thrown it and sees Hyungseob, holding two more stacks of Post-It's, as if ready to throw more.

“Jihoon is _not_ dead,” Euiwoong sighs. “Sewoon hyung, we have gone over you not making ‘so-and-so is dead’ jokes.” Sewoon purses his lips, graciously sitting back down.

“Jihoon took the day off to woo the pizza guy,” Donghyun says.

Woojin frowns, looking between Donghyun and Daehwi. “Can he even do that? Isn’t he supposed to tell me those kinds of things?”

“Not technically. You’re not in charge of our work days,” Daehwi answers. “He told Youngmin hyung and Donghyun hyung.”

Haknyeon clucks his tongue. “Which means we are down our delivery boy. That’s the problem.” Woojin slouches down in his chair, groaning.

“I’ll go,” Hyungseob volunteers. He’s put the Post-It's down, now drumming his fingers on the table. “Sewoon hyung can take over the register for me.” Sewoon nods. “I have a car, plus a full tank of gas.”

Euiwoong grins. “Great! Woojin hyung, you got yourself a delivery boy!”

Hyungseob turns to Woojin. “You’re coming?”

“I need to set up the cake when we get there. My order, yeah.” Woojin scratches his neck. “Hope your front seat is clean.”

The bakery opens. Haknyeon, Daehwi, and Euiwoong stay behind, managing the kitchen. Youngmin and Donghyun are working the computers; Sewoon is having his fun on the register. (Woojin will throw Jihoon over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes when he gets back tomorrow, because he sucks and didn’t tell Woojin he’d been ditching for a _boy_ today.)

Woojin and Hyungseob get the cake tiers from the fridge and put them in the trunk of Hyungseob’s car. There are three layers of cake, each in separate boxes, and another box with the sugar-blown flowers and other decorations. Woojin also grabs his small toolkit, which has everything he needs in case he needs to fix the cake.

The car ride is fun. Hyungseob has a surprisingly good playlist, a jumbled mess of R&B and pop and indie. They talk, laugh, sing, rap. Sometimes Hyungseob will try to hit the high notes in WJSN songs, and every time Woojin will tell him it won’t ever work. Hyungseob gets pouty, but Woojin won’t give him the satisfaction of killing his eardrums. When they arrive at the venue, Hyungseob parks the car close to the entrance so they don’t have a far walk inside.

The order is for an engaged couples’ event. It’s some derivation of a wedding expo, but smaller and more intimate, with presentations and speakers. Kim Chungha, a wedding planner and friend of the bakery, had ordered a cake from Sparrow to showcase what kind of cake is the most popular at weddings. The cake itself is pretty simple, the tiers red velvet, marble, and raspberry. The decorations are what make it unique, branches of cherry blossoms winding around the whole cake. Hyungseob had seen it at the bakery and marveled for a full ten minutes, which made Woojin shy.

No one is at the venue yet. Woojin thinks it’s better that way, to be as quick and unnoticeable as possible. He and Hyungseob carry the boxes in and set them on the table marked _Dessert_. Woojin stacks the cake tiers and puts on the decorations, carefully wrapping them around the cake. As he’s touching up the designs chiseled on the cake, Hyungseob accidentally bumps his arm and he smudges part of the fondant.

“Oh my god,” blurts Hyungseob, panicked. Woojin sighs. “Is that bad? Is this my fault? I am so, so, so sorry, Woojin. Don’t fire me.”

“Stuff like this happens all the time. We’re fine,” Woojin assures. “But I left my tools in the backseat.” He tries not to chuckle when he sees Hyungseob’s disheartened pout. “Come on, Seob. Don’t make that face.”

Woojin tries to cheer Hyungseob up during the walk back to the car. Hyungseob still looks like he’s beating himself up about it, but Woojin tells him he should have more faith. It’s an easy fix by one of the best bakers in Seoul.

When they get back inside, they see that there are some people going in and out of the reception hall. There’s a suited man standing outside the doors, face stoic. When they try to go back in, the man stops them.

“I can’t let you into the event,” the man says, stern. “Couples and authorized personnel only.”

“We’re authorized,” Hyungseob says. The man doesn’t look convinced.

“No, you don’t understand,” Woojin says. “I made the cake. I have to fix it.”

“You? A baker?” scoffs the man. “Yeah, sure. You’re just two little freeloaders who want free stuff.”

Woojin holds back his anger, reaching into his pocket and grumbling, “Lemme show you my—” His hands pause, feeling nothing. Empty. He thinks back to earlier and remembers leaving the bakery, his wallet next to the fridge. And his phone. How could he leave those behind? Of all the things to forget!

The man crosses his arms and smirks with satisfaction. “Get lost.”

Hyungseob and Woojin drag their feet to the car, at a loss. They walk in relative silence, Woojin swinging his toolkit in dismay. When they get to the car, Woojin leans onto it as Hyungseob fiddles with his keys.

“Do I not look like my profession?” Woojin asks, staring down at his shoes. Converse. Scuffed on the heels.

“No offense, Boss, but you’re wearing ripped jeans _and_ a shirt littered with holes.”

Woojin defends, “That’s fashion.”

Hyungseob narrows his eyes. “Did Jihoon tell you that? He’s not to be trusted, Woojinnie.”

Running his hands through his hair, Woojin groans exasperatedly. “I need to fix that cake,” he murmurs. “I haven’t even talked to Chungha noona. If she sees the cake and thinks we dropped it off and ran, she’ll hate the bakery. She’s one of our top customers, too. I can’t call either, ugh.”

“Don’t freak out,” Hyungseob says, worried.

“Do you have an idea?”

To Woojin’s surprise, Hyungseob affirms, “Yes.” He unlocks his car and pulls out a large trash bag from the backseat. Inside are a wide array of clothes. “Hear me out.”

Woojin hears Hyungseob out.

“Your idea is to disguise ourselves and pretend to be a couple,” Woojin reiterates, monotone. Hyungseob nods. “That’s— That’s your idea.”

“I did not say it was a _good_ idea. It happens all the time in the movies!”

“It’s worth a try,” Woojin sighs. Hyungseob lights up as he starts to pull out dress shirts from the bag. “Why do you have all these clothes handy anyway?”

Hyungseob rummages through the bag, humming. “I forget to clean.” He backtracks. “I mean! They’re _clean_ , but I forget to take them out of the car. I had to go to the laundromat, but then I let them sit in here. Forgotten.”

“Oh, alright.” Woojin joins Hyungseob in looking for clothes. He finds that most of Hyungseob’s wardrobe is soft and pastel, which is no surprise. Hyungseob tends to wear similar clothing for work.

Hyungseob finds a long-sleeved shirt and holds it against Woojin’s chest. “Blue’s your color,” he says, smiling.

Woojin finds a polo and holds it near Hyungseob. “You look great in pink,” he declares. Hyungseob goes wide-eyed at that, and Woojin realizes how weird that sounds. “I. Pink. Pink is good. For you.” He coughs.

“T-Thank you. Um, let’s go get changed?” Hyungseob makes the suggestion sound like a question. Woojin answers a hushed “yes” anyway.

The two take turns changing in the backseat. Hyungseob hops out in the pink polo, jean jacket, and wire-glasses; Woojin wears the blue shirt, black slacks, and a dark gray scarf. It’s not much of a disguise for either of them, honestly, but they look a lot more business-casual than ripped and sparkly.

Before they try to get back into the reception hall, Woojin’s toolkit tucked in Hyungseob’s jacket pocket, Hyungseob reaches in front of Woojin, halting him.

“What’s that?” Woojin asks.

“My hand,” Hyungseob says, tone serious. “Couples hold hands, Woojin.”

Woojin flushes. For a second there, he’d forgotten they’d dressed up to pretend to be a couple. “I’m sweaty,” he blurts. Hyungseob rolls his eyes.

“Well, I have anxiety and constantly worry about my demise. We all have our problems,” Hyungseob huffs. “Come on, Woojinnie. We’re running out of time!” Woojin, tentative, takes Hyungseob’s hand, and Hyungseob grins. “Great! Now, act natural.”

 _Natural_ is a difficult word to describe in this situation. Woojin and Hyungseob are walking, hand-in-hand, into a couples-only event with the sole purpose to fix a cake. Woojin isn’t the best liar, unconventionally blunt at almost all times, but Hyungseob makes up for it. The other male chats with him casually, about how his day went and what he’s been craving to eat, and Woojin listens just like normal.

The person guarding the doors is different than before, but he still looks stern and unforgiving. This time, however, he lets them through without any protest. Hyungseob smiles amiably and Woojin, fearing he’d give away their cover, hides his face behind Hyungseob’s head.

There aren’t any other couples in the hall, as far as Woojin can tell, which is good. No one has seemed to notice the mistake on the cake. Woojin pulls Hyungseob along to the table, and with deft hands Woojin gets to work.

“Y’know, I can’t believe that worked,” Woojin marvels, tool smoothing down the fondant.

Hyungseob pushes his glasses up, looking dazed. “You and me both.”

Thankfully, Chungha arrives minutes after Woojin fixes the cake. She thanks them for everything, shaking his and Hyungseob’s hands, radiating with happiness. She tells them how grateful she is to be a prime customer, and Hyungseob responds with how grateful they are to have her. Chungha laughs at that comment.

“You’re welcome to stay,” she offers, when they turn to leave. “Lunch is in a few hours, and the presentations are great for couples of all kinds.”

Hyungseob blushes. “Ah, thanks, but—” He adjusts his glasses, glancing at Woojin. “We aren’t...”

Chungha lets out a long “ah” and nods her head, seemingly disappointed. “I apologize,” she says.

“We have things to do at the bakery,” Woojin proclaims. He turns to Hyungseob. “That’s what you meant, right?”

“Right,” Hyungseob says. Chungha looks between them and hides a smile behind her hand.

“Drive safely,” she says.

The drive back to the bakery is less energetic than the drive to the venue. Woojin spends his time scrolling through Hyungseob’s music playlist and commenting on the song selections. Eventually, Woojin gets fatigued and just sits back, stretching the bottom of his shirt, staring at the blue fabric.

“Do you like it that much?” Hyungseob asks jokingly, when they’re stopped at a red light, as he peeks at Woojin.

Woojin grins. “Ha, yeah. I don’t normally wear stuff like this, but it’s nice.” He looks up and catches a Hyungseob’s fond smile, and he’s momentarily stunned by his beauty. That doesn’t happen often. “I’ll. I’ll wash this, before I give it back,” he stutters.

“I’d hope so!”

When they get back to the bakery, Woojin makes haste when putting on his apron. He doesn’t want the other guys asking where he got his shirt from. It’s not really something to hide, but he feels embarrassed by it. Hyungseob would probably be in the same boat if he wore Woojin’s clothes.

The thought brings color to Woojin’s cheeks as he finishes swirling a rose on a cupcake. He frowns.

“Weren’t you making a cat?” Euiwoong asks as he peers over Woojin’s shoulder. “Good job, though. Best flower from you in months.”

Woojin frowns some more. Why was he piping a rose? Huh.

——

“Can I speak to the owner?”

Woojin has heard this voice before. He’s in the kitchen while the voice comes from the front so it’s muffled, hard to pinpoint exactly who it belongs to. Even still, he knows he recognizes it from somewhere.

“Park Woojin? I think he’s busy right now, but if you would just wait one minute,” Hyungseob responds. A moment passes and his head pops through the doorway of the kitchen.

“Park Woojin, you have a visitor,” Haknyeon sings, in the middle of rolling cookie dough.

“I was about to say that,” Hyungseob huffs. He motions to Woojin. “Come out, Boss. Someone is asking for you. She’s a well-dressed lady.”

Woojin puts down his utensils and wipes his hands down on his apron. It’s not often someone asks to see the owner. Normally, whenever someone does, it’s to complain about a botched order or inquire about ingredients that may induce allergic reactions. Woojin has heard from Hyungseob enough to know that epipens are way less scary than angry customers wanting a refund on food they’ve already consumed.

Luckily, the woman waiting for Woojin seems calm. She has dark, straight hair, slightly curled on the ends, and fair skin. Like Hyungseob had mentioned, she’s well-dressed, with a flowing skirt and low heels. Her handbag looks designer, too. When she turns to Woojin, she breaks into an elated grin and waves.

“Sohye,” Woojin says, jaw dropping in shock. He crosses the room to hug her. She smells like cotton candy, pure sweetness, and she’s still small in Woojin’s arms. “It’s been so long!”

Sohye pulls back, lips quirking. “Are you surprised? I just got back from Nagoya,” she proclaims. She looks around, eyes bright. “I had to stop and visit. I’ve been hearing awesome things about Sparrow!”

Woojin scratches his neck, sheepish. “Yeah, it’s... it’s great. Really, it’s been a dream.” Hyungseob, standing idly a few steps away, clears his throat, and Woojin hurries over to him. “Oh, right. Sohye, this—” Woojin pats his shoulder, "—is Hyungseob. He’s on the register.”

“How fun!” exclaims Sohye. Hyungseob reaches for a handshake, but she goes straight for a hug. Hyungseob is startled but not unwelcome to it. “I know Woojin from high school. We were classmates every year.”

“Nice to meet you. A friend of Woojin’s is a friend of mine,” Hyungseob says, smiling. “You look beautiful!”

Sohye bats her hand at him, grinning widely. “Aw, you’re too kind,” she says. She turns to Woojin, hands clasped in front of her chest. “Are the other guys here, too? Donghyun oppa and Youngmin oppa?”

Woojin nods. “Yeah. I think they’ll be excited to see you. There are the bakers, too, who I want to introduce you to. All of them are great.”

Taking Sohye’s hand, Woojin shows her around the bakery. Artwork is hung all over the walls, all from local artists. Most of them are photographs, with a couple paintings strewn here and there. The display cases are set up, fresh pastries showcased for customers to admire. Sohye follows along giddily, shoes clicking on the floor, as Woojin takes her to the office space.

Youngmin and Donghyun spring to their feet when they lay eyes on Sohye. Donghyun runs to hug her first, and then Youngmin next. They sit together and chat, catching up on the past few years in only a handful of minutes. Sohye can’t stay for long, so Woojin quickly brings her to the kitchen and gives a brief introduction of the bakers. Haknyeon tells her she’s “super-duper pretty” and Euiwoong offers her freshly made blueberry tarts. Daehwi gives her a purple container to put them in and includes three of his own dark chocolate truffles. Sohye bows furiously, a habit she hasn’t shaken from high school, as Woojin walks out with her.

“Are you leaving so soon?” Hyungseob asks, leaning on the counter.

“Ah, yeah...” Sohye twists her lips. “It feels kind of mean, only staying for a bit and taking a bunch of sweets to-go for free.”

“It’s totally okay. Don’t sweat it,” Woojin reassures. “You helped me a lot, Sohye. Back in school. You always rooted for me, supported me. This much is nothing.”

“I always knew you could do it,” Sohye beams. She bites her lip and touches the glass on one of the display cases. “Do you mind if I order some madeleines? Sohee unnie loves them.”

Woojin looks to Hyungseob, who has a strange expression on his face. It dissipates in a moment, getting replaced with a grin as he takes out a paper bag to put the madeleines in. “Sure thing!” he exclaims.

While Hyungseob packs the treats, Woojin kicks out his foot and leans against Sohye’s shoulder. “So...” He smirks as Sohye raises her eyebrows. “Have you given her the ring yet?”

Eyes widening, Sohye sputters, “W-Woojin!” Hyungseob’s head pops up at the exclamation, seemingly interested and/or concerned. Sohye blushes furiously, ducking her head and whispering, “I-I am waiting for the r-right time. Gosh.”

“You’ve been dating for, like, ten years.”

“Don’t blow it out of proportion,” Sohye grumbles. Woojin shoots her a knowing look. “Seven.” She shakes her shoulders whiningly when Woojin snickers. “I’ll do it... soon! It’ll be cute and with balloons and live music. It’ll knock her socks off. Someone will put it on Facebook Live. You’ll see.”

“She’ll love it,” Woojin laughs.

Sohye huffs, “Of course she will. She loves _me_.”

Hyungseob chirps, “Are you ready to pay, Sohye?” Woojin can’t explain it, but he looks brighter all of a sudden. Maybe it’s the lighting. They should fix that.

“Thanks again,” Sohye says, after paying. She holds up her goods and smiles. “This’ll be delicious, I know it.”

“Next time, bring Sohee noona, too,” Woojin says.

“I’ll try,” Sohye giggles.

“Come back soon!” Hyungseob shouts as Sohye heads out the door.

Since the bakery is having a rare slow day, Woojin stays at the front of the shop with Hyungseob. If the bakers need him, they’ll send out Euiwoong to pluck him by the arm to pipe frosting. Woojin sits in his chair, watching Hyungseob whistle and hum as he flits around the bakery, not uncharacteristic of him but more frequent than normal.

“Something good happen?” inquires Woojin.

Hyungseob tilts his head, as if confused, but he’s grinning from ear to ear. “Nothing,” he declares, but even his shrug looks suspicious. Woojin resists the urge to squint at it. “Does Sohye work abroad?”

Woojin blinks. “Yeah. She’s a model. Her girlfriend is a singer. They moved to Japan for a few years, but she came back for a visit.”

“She’s cute,” Hyungseob notes. Woojin frowns. “In the little sister sort of way,” Hyungseob continues, chuckling.

“Sohye’s the same age as us.”

“Really? She looks so young!” Hyungseob buzzes his lips and pats his cheeks. “I wonder if she has wrinkles like me...”

Woojin grins. “You pull them off, Seob.”

Hyungseob beams. “I do, don’t I?” And he goes back to whistling, chipper, skipping around the bakery. Woojin recognizes some Red Velvet songs, which is fairly new.

——

Woojin gets the flu. There are two things that are wrong with this statement.

1\. The last time Woojin had gotten this sick was back in elementary school. It had been an outbreak of chickenpox, very possibly the worst experience in his entire life. He’d been restless for days, itching and scratching and wailing about not being able to itch and scratch. His mom would run him aloe baths, and he’d smell like a plant for almost a month afterwards. Woojin still has scars from the bumps he’d itched too hard, and since then he’s done everything in his power to avoid major ailments.

2\. It’s Woojin. Out of the four residents of the apartment, Woojin is the only oneto catch the virus. _Only_ Woojin. How is that fair? If anyone should be getting sick, it’s Donghyun. He’s always shaking everybody’s hands!

Woojin is blaming it on climate change. The weather is wrong. It’s summer, but there’s been so much cold weather and rain. This isn’t right.

The three other residents of the apartment stand at Woojin’s bedside while Woojin lies flat on his back, blanket tucked to his chin. He has a tissue box next to his head, a bottle of Gatorade on his nightstand, and a trash bin on the floor. He’s taken a few painkillers, but he still feels like keeling over.

“You’re banned from the bakery until you recover,” Donghyun declares sternly.

“You can’t _ban_ me,” Woojin scoffs. It induces a sneeze, which induces a cough, and he forcibly grabs his tissue box and plucks out four. “I’m the owner,” he mutters.

“You’re also sporting a near hospital-inducing fever,” Youngmin counters. He puts his hand on Woojin’s forehead and immediately retracts it, wiping it on his shirt. “And, holy cow, enough sweat to water a field.”

“I’m naturally sweaty,” Woojin grumbles.

Daehwi scrunches his nose. “Ew, that’s just gross.” He air-pats Woojin, an appreciated gesture. “We’ll be at the bakery, Woojin hyung. All of us will work our hardest to make up for what you can’t do.”

Woojin squints. “Is that supposed to make me feel better.”

“Yes!” Daehwi exclaims.

“Okay,” Woojin says. “Thanks.”

“We’ll be back after the bakery closes,” Donghyun sighs. “There’s chicken soup on the stove. If you need anything else, call us.”

“Get some rest, Woojinnie,” Youngmin says, and then they’re gone.

One hour is spent listlessly staring at the ceiling and wondering how the bakery is doing. Have all the orders been prepared? Are there enough eggs for pound cake? Is Haknyeon eating sprinkles straight from the can? Has Sewoon started singing to Ed Sheeran while he’s on hold with their fruit supplier?

After all these questions are left unanswered, when Woojin realizes there’s no point on dwelling on it, he decides to take a nap. He takes a swig of Gatorade and settles back in bed.

Woojin has a weird dream. It’s one where there are a bunch of people he knows, except none of their actions make any sense. Like, Sewoon and Jihoon are there except they’re polite and quiet and not acting weird at all. Daehwi is there, and so is Jinyoung; they have their personalities and outfits swapped, so it’s a baggy hoodie wearing Daehwi brooding over life’s shortcomings while Jinyoung, clad in neon everything, throws glitter flakes into his hair.

Hyungseob is there, too, but he seems the most accurate out of everyone. He and Woojin sit together on the moon, kicking up space dust, babbling in gibberish. Hyungseob has an ethereal glow around him, like he’s an angel sent from above or someone who’s been dipped in a vat of radioactive chemicals. Woojin can’t tell the difference in his dream, but he knows Hyungseob would be lovely either way.

Lovely?

When Woojin awakens, there’s Ahn Hyungseob in the flesh, no longer glowing, holding onto a Rilakkuma plush the size of his head and asking softly, “Is that my shirt?”

“Hyungseob?” Woojin croaks, sitting up. He coughs into his sleeve. “What’re you doing here?”

Pulling up a chair, Hyungseob takes a seat and explains, “I left the bakery early to see how you were doing. Jihoon has the register, so it’s all good. I even got you a little bear from the claw machine across the street.” He tucks the Rilakkuma under Woojin’s sheets, smiling. “No, but really. Is that mine?”

“What’s yours?”

Hyungseob grins. “The shirt that you’re wearing right now.”

The shirt. Blue, soft, long-sleeved. This shirt. Woojin had plucked it from his hamper of clean clothes, after he’d sweat through his last, not realizing it’d been the one Hyungseob let him borrow.

“I meant to give it back,” he insists, pulling the sleeves over his hands, “but it’s so comfy.”

“That’s one of my favorites, y’know,” Hyungseob says playfully.

Woojin smiles, sheepish. “Sorry.” He grabs a hold of the Rilakkuma, squishing it in his hands. It’s a nice gift. He’ll name it later.

“I don’t think I want it back anymore anyway,” Hyungseob hums. He scrunches up his nose. “It has Park Woojin germs all over it.”

Pouting, Woojin glares at him. “I’m sick, Seob. Don’t be mean to me.”

“I do this with all the affection in the world,” Hyungseob promises. Woojin blushes. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Sorta.” Woojin shrugs. His stomach makes a weird noise, and he make a face. “Oh, I haven’t eaten since this morning.”

“Is there food?” Hyungseob asks. Woojin nods. “I’ll go grab it for you.”

“I thought you weren’t allowed in the kitchen,” Woojin remarks.

Hyungseob stands, sending Woojin an over-the-top wink. “For you, Woojin, I’d risk it.” Woojin snickers. “Give me a few minutes, and you’ll have yourself a hot bowl of...”

“Chicken soup.”

“Hot bowl of chicken soup.” Hyungseob snaps his fingers. “Be right back, Boss.”

Woojin watches him leave the room, feeling his heart race in his chest. It’s been doing that a lot lately, even before he’d gotten sick. Whenever it happens, he’s around Hyungseob. Heart pounding, nervous stammerings, furious blushing. Being around Hyungseob makes him feel a lot of weird feelings.

Actually, ever since Hyungseob had come into the bakery for a job interview, Woojin’s had his heart racing. Hyungseob has always smiled at him, made him feel like he was worth all the stars in the night sky. Even if it’s something small, like bringing him a coffee from Starbucks or holding open the door, Woojin feels like Hyungseob has given him the world. Hanging out with him more often has increased that sentiment greatly.

Is this how Haknyeon feels about Euiwoong? Is this how Sohye feels about Sohee? Daehwi and Jinyoung? Donghyun and Sewoon? Maybe Samuel and Jihoon? Those are couples, though. They’re all dating. Happy, healthy relationships.

Oh. Oh, wait a second.

Two and two are put together.

The gears turn and click.

 _Well_ , Woojin thinks weakly as Hyungseob comes back in his room with a bowl of somehow burned chicken soup and a glass of ice water, _I think I like him._

——

Haknyeon puts down his bowl of marshmallow fondant, leaning on the table and poking Woojin’s arm. “Did you catch your cold again? You’ve been acting funny.”

Woojin stops piping frosting on the cake and furrows his eyebrows. “What? No I haven’t.”

“The only color you’ve been using to decorate is pink,” Daehwi points out, passing behind him.

Glancing at his cake, Woojin sees dozens of flowers swirled all over its sides, all various hues of pink. “Oh.” He coughs, rubbing his nose. “This is... for the aesthetic.”

“Really into roses these days,” Euiwoong observes, amused. “Isn’t that cake for a baby shower for a boy?”

“Colors don’t have a gender, Euiwoong,” Daehwi huffs. He turns to Woojin. “Although, you should still change it. I’m pretty sure the order requested all black.”

Woojin sighs. Instinctively, he glances at the door leading out of the kitchen. Hyungseob’s laugh is ringing like a fairy’s bells, tinkling and neat. “I’m fine,” he says to no one in particular. “I can fix this.”

Read: Woojin is twenty-four and has just discovered he has a major a crush on Hyungseob, newfound friend and longtime cashier at his bakery. Woojin refuses to tell anyone about it. He’ll take this to his grave. This is _fine_.

——

Late Friday night, Woojin realizes he’d left his wallet at the bakery again. He could wait until the tomorrow to get it, but he wants to order a pair of shoes off Amazon and he needs his credit card. Important business matters. And Woojin has a terrible memory, so he’ll probably forget about the shoes the moment he shuts off his laptop.

Woojin borrows Donghyun’s car to drive to the bakery, a little out of practice since it’s been so long since he’s driven. He won’t tell Donghyun how he runs a near red light (once) and drives over the curb (twice). As long as he doesn’t make eye contact with anyone when he gets back to the apartment, he should be fine. No one should suspect a thing.

Woojin gets to the bakery and is surprised to see someone sitting outside it. The familiar figure resembles Hyungseob, who’d been wearing a striped green shirt today. His soft gray jeans stand out against the beige cement of the sidewalk. Woojin is confused. Hyungseob had left before sundown to go to his dance studio, and now he’s here. Woojin walks closer.

“Hyungseob? Is that...” Woojin slows his step when he hears sniffling. “Are you— Are you crying?”

“No,” Hyungseob says, sounding absolutely miserable, wiping at his eyes. “These are allergies. I’m allergic to the darkness.”

Woojin snorts. He doesn’t know why Hyungseob is groveling like this, outside the bakery. Still, it makes his heart hurt, so he offers a hand and asks, “Do you wanna come inside with me?”

Hyungseob takes Woojin’s hand and stands up, sniffling some more. “And do what?”

Well, Woojin hadn’t thought of that. He’d planned to go straight back home after getting his wallet, but now... Hyungseob is here, sad, teary-eyed. He needs a pick-me-up. Woojin can’t just abandon him to suffer by himself.

Woojin gets an idea. “Help me with a cake,” he proclaims, smiling.

“But I can’t crack eggs. You know that.”

“We’ll decorate,” Woojin says. There are always one or two cakes in the fridge, in case one of the bakers wants to test fondant work or icing consistency. Hyungseob expression doesn’t let up, so Woojin gives him a snaggletoothed smile and says, “Please?”

Hyungseob smiles weakly. “Okay, you’ve convinced me.”

Unlocking the door, Woojin enters the bakery and navigates around without turning on any of the lights. When they get in the kitchen, Hyungseob turns on a switch so it’s not as dim. They wash their hands over the sink, Hyungseob pushing out the soap for them. Woojin goes to grab a cake while Hyungseob sits at the table. Inside the fridge, Woojin finds a square cake already covered in white fondant. There’s some buttercream saved in some piping bags, multiple colors. Woojin takes them and a few containers of sprinkles to the table.

“What’s the theme?” Hyungseob asks, taking the yellow piping back Woojin hands to him.

“Uh.” Woojin stares at the cake. He hums. “Disney.”

Hyungseob grins. “Just my style!”

Woojin and Hyungseob start to do small designs on the cake. Woojin pipes the signature Mickey Mouse logo, skilled flicks of the wrist topping the ears. Hyungseob tries drawing classic symbols from some Disney movies: the swirl from Moana, the glass slipper from Cinderella, and the trident from the Little Mermaid. He decorates them with candy beads and sprinkles, intrigued at how well everything sticks and fits together. Woojin laughs.

Eventually, they run out of space on the cake to decorate. Hyungseob starts to pile on candy beads and stars, scattering sprinkles on the frosting. Woojin scolds him and says he’s going to make a mess, and then there’s a wicked glint in Hyungseob’s eyes as he squeezes out a dollop of buttercream onto his hand.

The next moment goes by at lightning speed, Hyungseob smashing the buttercream in Woojin’s face and escaping to the other side of the kitchen. Woojin gapes at him, baffled. Hyungseob is snickering. Woojin, a man now on a mission, picks up two piping bags and stalks in Hyungsoeb’s direction. They smear frosting and sprinkles all over one another, in their hair, in their clothes, across their skin.

Laughing, Woojin and Hyungseob fall into a heap on the floor, tired out of breath. Woojin looks over at Hyungseob, whose grin is wide and beautiful, whose eyes are puffy from crying but have regained his full sense of life. Woojin’s heart swells.

Woojin leans in to kiss him. His lips land at the corner of Hyungseob’s mouth, the purple frosting there coming away sweet and sugary. When Woojin pulls back he blanches, eyes widening as Hyungseob freezes.

Oh, no.

Without so much as an explanation, Woojin scrambles up and wipes the frosting from his hands on his pants. He takes shaky steps back, one then two, two then three. Hyungseob scoots up, blinking, hand coming to cover his mouth. Woojin avoids Hyungseob’s gaze, sprinting out of the bakery without turning back.

Woojin gets Donghyun’s seat dirty with green and yellow frosting, specks of glitter shaking from his hair and shirt. He runs over three more curbs on the way home, and when he parks the car (over the line) he realizes he hadn’t even gotten his wallet.

(And Hyungseob doesn’t have the key to the bakery. Woojin prays no one will break in.)

——

“If I had a dollar every time Woojin came to me with his problems,” Donghyun starts, leaning onto the doorframe, but then he closes his mouth, frowning. “I’m not finishing this sentence. It worked out better in my head.”

“This is new,” Youngmin says. He bounces on his bed and throws an arm around Woojin, who’s taken shelter cocooned in Youngmin’s blanket, after an emergency shower. There are still sprinkles behind his ears. “Really, really new. What’s up, man?”

“I-I messed up,” Woojin stutters. He wraps the blanket tighter around himself, hoping he can disappear in it. “I messed up so bad, Hyungseob will hate me forever, my life is falling apart, I’m the worst—”

“Slow down,” Donghyun chides. He crosses the room and kneels at the side of the bed, patting Woojin lightly. “Go from the very beginning.”

Woojin inhales shakily. He looks between Youngmin and Donghyun, two of his closest friends, and contemplates setting the room on fire to avoid this impending conversation. It’s a ridiculous idea (because there are no matches or lighter fuel in here) so Woojin has to tell the truth. The truth that he vowed to take to the grave.

“I like Hyungseob,” he murmurs. That secret lasted about three days. Woojin is not great at hiding secrets, apparently.

Donghyun gasps, but it looks slightly exaggerated. Youngmin sneezes. Woojin doesn’t know what to make of that.

Woojin clears his throat, voice quieting even more. “And I kissed him.” He points to the corner of his mouth, blushing at the mere thought. “O-On accident.”

“Was not expecting that one,” Youngmin says slowly.

Donghyun consolingly rubs Woojin’s shoulder. “How’d that happen?”

Woojin shrugs. “Hyungseob was crying, so I let him decorate a cake with me to cheer up, there was Disney, then we were putting frosting on each other, and Hyungseob looked so cute, so I just—” He whimpers. “Holy smokes, I tried to kiss him.”

“You can apologize to him tomorrow,” Donghyun suggests. “Explain everything to him.” At Woojin’s scandalized expression, he amends, “Maybe not _everything_.”

“Hyungseob will understand,” Youngmin assures. “If he doesn’t, then there’s nothing you can do.” Donghyun glares at him while Woojin groans. “What? I’m telling it like it is.”

“It’ll work out,” Donghyun says. “Trust me.”

Woojin sighs. Nothing in life is ever that easy.

——

**P. Woojin (11:29 PM)**

Can you come to the bakery early tomorrow? Seven-ish. I need to talk to you

**A. Hyungseob (11:31 PM)**

Okay

Do u want coffee? Im buying :-)

**P. Woojin (11:32 PM)**

Yes please

——

Hyungseob is holding two iced Americanos as he pulls open the kitchen door. Woojin is standing by the counter, wringing his hands, apron dusted with flour. Next to him, there’s a small cake, blue with drizzles of yellow, a gold star sprinkle wedged in the center of it. Hyungseob sets down the coffees and walks over, pulling up a stool.

“You wanted to talk,” he prompts. His face is unreadable.

Nodding nervously, Woojin clears his throat and gestures to the cake. “This is an _I’m sorry_ cake.” He takes out a fork from his apron pocket and hands it to Hyungseob. “Because I am sorry.”

Hyungseob stares at the cake, thoughtful. “What flavor is it?” he asks.

“Guilt,” Woojin answers, “and lemon.”

“I like lemon,” Hyungseob hums, showing a tiny smile. “I don’t know what to say about the guilt, though.”

“Well, I wanna apologize,” Woojin begins. He takes in a long inhale. Takes out a longer exhale.

“First, I don’t know why you were crying yesterday. I’m sorry for that. I should’ve asked. A good friend helps with feelings.”

“Yeah,” Hyungseob says.

Woojin bites his lip. “Second, I’m sorry for... k-kissing you. It was all of a sudden, and you must’ve hated me for it.” He hides his face. “I don’t know why I did it. I shouldn’t have.”

Hyungseob grunts, “Hm.” It’s neither dismissive nor affirming. Woojin continues.

“Third, I’m sorry for running. I’m not good at— at a lot of things, and I guess confronting you can be added to the list. I was scared you’d hate me. So I ran.

“Please forgive me, Seob,” Woojin pleads.

“I don’t know...” Hyungseob trails off. Woojin deflates. “ _But._ I’ll consider it, depending on how good this cake is.”

Woojin lights up. “Really?”

Hyungseob breaks into the cake with his fork and pops it into his mouth. After a few chews, he grins. “You’re forgiven,” he says dreamily.

Relieved, Woojin slumps onto the table and smiles at Hyungseob as he eats. “Is it too late to ask why you were crying?” he asks. “I— I don’t want you hiding it. Well, unless it’s a big secret, then it’s reasonable to, but I think we’re close enough to—”

“Woojin,” Hyungseob says, and Woojin stops his rambling. “I’ll tell you.” He sets his fork down and sighs.

“Yesterday, I learned that one of the guys at the dance studio, Kang Daniel, got a boyfriend. It was a meet-cute. Daniel hyung lost his cat, his cat attacked the guy who found her, and Daniel hyung gave the guy bandages and his number. Super smooth. He was talking about it for hours, I swear.”

Woojin furrows his eyebrows. “Am I supposed to congratulate him...?”

“No, Woojin,” Hyungseob chuckles. He looks down. “A long time ago, I— I liked Daniel hyung.”

“Oh,” Woojin says. Oh. He clears his throat. “Do— Do you still have feelings for him?”

Hyungseob furiously shakes his head. “No. God, no.” He shudders. “Daniel hyung is like a wise teacher to me. That crush was when I was in my young and impressionable teen years.”

Woojin tries not to look too relieved. He asks, “Then what’s the matter?”

“Well,” Hyungseob says. He purses his lips and squints at Woojin. “Don’t laugh at me.”

“Never,” promises Woojin. At least, not now.

“He and I were the only single guys in the studio. Hwanwoong is dating Geonhee, Taehyun is dating Sungwoon... A lot of dancers like singers, but that’s not the point. Me and Daniel hyung, we would be the only ones talking about _not_ relationship stuff. Even though I look up to him, I could still be at a conversational level.” Hyungseob sighs. “Now that Daniel hyung is taken, I’m all alone. I was driving down the road, got sad, and pulled over. And I cried. I didn’t even realize I was at the bakery! Pathetic, isn’t it?”

Woojin hesitates, hand awkwardly hovering over Hyungseob, but then he lets it settle on Hyungseob’s shoulder, patting gently. “Just because you’re alone... doesn’t mean you’re lonely. You can do whatever you want on your own, and we all have your back. We’re here for you.” He frowns. “Sorry, that didn’t make much sense.”

Hyungseob laughs. “That’s your charm, Woojinnie. Not that great with words, but I sort of know what you’re getting at. I feel it, and I liked it.” He picks his fork up. “Want to help me finish my _I’m sorry_ cake?”

“Sure.”

They finish the cake five minutes before the other bakers arrive. Hyungseob smiles brightly, beautifully. They cheers their cups of coffee, drinking up. The sweet taste of lemon sticks to Woojin’s tongue for the whole day.

——

“AND YOU DIDN’T KISS HIM!?”

The inhuman screech is enough to make Youngmin fall off the couch, hair tousled from his unintentional nap during Woojin’s storytelling. He settles back down when he realizes it’s just Daehwi, fire in his eyes, climbing across the kitchen table and about to grip Woojin by the collar. Donghyun holds him back, wrapping his arms tight around Daehwi, groaning. Sewoon is making himself an ice cream sundae, onto his seventh scoop of vanilla.

Youngmin takes a photo for commemoration.

Woojin sputters, “In what world— Why would— That doesn’t—” He takes a second to collect his thoughts. Daehwi is fuming. Donghyun is struggling to keep him constrained.

“The whole situation was me _apologizing_ for doing that,” Woojin hisses.

“HOW COULD YOU _NOT_ KISS HIM!?” shrieks Daehwi, not caring at all for Woojin’s flimsy excuse.

Blushing, Woojin turns to Donghyun. He points to Daehwi, sneering, “Why is he even here?”

“Daehwi lives here,” Youngmin declares.

“That’s not what he meant,” Sewoon sing-songs.

Woojin glares at Sewoon. “Why are _you_ here?”

Sewoon looks up, wielding the ice cream scooper, droopy eyes blinking innocently. “Donghyun’s my boyfriend.” He gasps, but it somehow comes off as sarcastic. “Don’t tell me you _forgot_. We had a whole intervention, Woojin!”

Woojin deadpans, “Don’t do this.”

“Pretend like neither of them is here,” Donghyun says, finally letting go of Daehwi.

“That’s—” Woojin cuts off himself off when he feels Daehwi clutch onto his leg, and he stares at him for a full ten seconds in silence, “—difficult.” He looks at Sewoon, too. “They’ve already heard too much.”

“Plus Jinyoung hyung,” Daehwi says, casual. Woojin’s eyes widen. “I put him on speakerphone twenty minutes ago.” Daehwi whips out his iPhone. He doesn’t even look sorry. “Say hi, love.”

“ _Hello_ ,” comes Jinyoung’s staticy voice. “ _Hope the best for you and Hyungseob, Woojin._ ”

“How did no one hear him?” mutters Donghyun, amazed.

“ _I’m quiet._ ”

Woojin throws his hands in the air. “Unbelievable.”

“Why didn’t you kiss him, Woojin hyung?” Daehwi continues to wail. “The timing was perfect! You were sharing a _cake_! Hyungseob hyung’s smile was beautiful! There were stars in your eyes!”

“He’s got a point,” Sewoon hums. “The stars, too.”

“Don’t encourage him,” Woojin says tiredly.

“If you want my opinion,” Donghyun starts, “I think what you did was the right thing, Woojin. You apologized, albeit a little unconventionally, but it got the job done. I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you, hyung.”

“I offer a counterpoint,” Youngmin interjects. Daehwi cheers from his spot on Woojin’s foot. It’s becoming uncomfortably warm.

Sewoon holds the ice cream scooper close to his mouth and pretends it’s a microphone. “Im Youngmin, what are your thoughts on this issue? You have two minutes.”

Youngmin drapes himself over the back of the couch. “You did the wrong thing, Woojin. You apologized for kissing Hyungseob, but you know deep down you don’t regret it. You have feelings for him, but you used the cake as an excuse to brush them under the rug. To pretend it didn’t happen.” He points at Woojin, stern. “You called the kiss a mistake because you don’t want Hyungseob to find out you like him.”

Woojin can’t respond. Frankly, he knows he can’t refute Youngmin’s claim. There’s truth to it.

“ _Dang. Woojin hyung got thrown under the bus_ ,” Jinyoung blurts. Daehwi shushes him. “ _Sorry. Youngmin hyung just dropped the mic. I had to react._ ”

Daehwi sighs. “No one says that anymore, love.” He knocks his head against Woojin’s knee. “Youngmin hyung has a point, still.”

“Get off me,” Woojin growls, shaking Daehwi off his leg. Daehwi pops off, almost comically, and slides across the kitchen floor until he hits a cabinet. “I want advice, not—” Woojin gestures wildly to the whole apartment, “—whatever _this_ is.”

“Grow a bonsai,” Sewoon says, holding his bowl of ice cream. He’s met with confused stares. He, too, gets confused until he realizes what’s wrong. “Oh, you mean advice with Hyungseob. Right, right.” He nods to himself and sits with Youngmin on the couch, who manages to steal a bite out of Sewoon’s ice cream.

“ _Flowers and chocolate are romantic_ ,” Jinyoung proposes. “ _Daehwi did that when he confessed to me. It was great._ ” Woojin grunts.

“Kiss him,” Daehwi suggests, very unhelpfully.

Woojin grabs the nearest object — an unwashed frying pan — and threatens to throw it at him. “Stop.” He puts the pan down and slides onto the floor, next to Daehwi, rubbing his face. “I’m— I need help.”

Donghyun walks to him, extending a hand. Woojin takes it, getting up. Daehwi gets offended when he doesn’t get a hand and picks himself up.

“Believe in yourself,” Donghyun says, hugging Woojin at his side. “Ask Hyungseob out. It’s simple. The worst that can happen is that he says no.”

“And if he says no, you just have to get over it,” adds Youngmin. Donghyun glares at him. “What? All of us work together. It’ll be awkward if he _doesn’t_ get over it.”

Woojin doesn’t feel any better. He drops onto the couch face first, knocking into Youngmin and Sewoon, groaning. That’s what his life is now. Groaning. And dirty couch cushions. Is that Daehwi’s old retainer?

Sewoon scoops ice cream into his mouth, holding the spoon in his mouth. “You should wait,” he says. He pats Woojin on the head. “To ask Hyungseob out.”

“What? Are you kidding me?” scoffs Daehwi.

“We should be on the same side!” Donghyun exclaims, joining forces with Daehwi. “What makes you say that?”

Sewoon hums. “Woojin isn’t ready. Not for confessing, not for a relationship. He’s barely ready for his own feelings for Hyungseob. Can’t you tell?” He gives Woojin another pat. “The time will come, buddy.”

“Thanks,” Woojin says. “Your ice cream is melting out of the bowl, hyung.”

“Oh, dear.”

——

The bakery goes back to normal. Nothing is really out of the ordinary in the first place, but Woojin thinks that this routine is normal. He and Hyungseob talk by the cash register. Hyungseob brings him coffee, smiles, and tells him stories about Justin and Zhengting. There are stories about the dance studio, which Hyungseob gets really passionate about. Woojin listens, loves listening.

Half the bakery knows about Woojin’s crush. Most of them are mature about it and keep the teasing to a minimum. Sewoon constantly asks if he and Hyungseob are going out to lunch together. Youngmin switches their paychecks when he hands them their envelopes. Donghyun casually compliments Woojin on his hair in front of Hyungseob (although Donghyun knows very well Woojin forgets to comb his hair nearly every morning). Daehwi doesn’t count, because he’s always giving Woojin a hard time and waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Jihoon, Haknyeon, and Euiwoong don’t seem to sense anything amiss. Haknyeon and Euiwoong are too busy being in love, and Jihoon is too busy charming the pants off the pizza guy. Current state of Jihoon and the pizza guy: Samuel knows Jihoon’s name and pizza order. Jihoon calls it progress.

A few weeks pass by, uneventful. Woojin doesn’t act on his feelings, and Hyungseob is none the wiser. It’s slow, painful torture, but Woojin gets to hang out with Hyungseob and have fun. That’s the whole torture part, technically, but what’s he to do? _Confess_? Yeah, no, not happening.

Not yet. Woojin is... waiting for the right moment. Or something.

——

A calm, normal, Wednesday morning. Woojin enters the bakery, yawning. He’d spent the prior night binge-watching a new drama. Someone should’ve stopped him. Hyungseob had been texting him until one a.m. before calling it quits, but Woojin is too headstrong to lose his will to sleep. The regret is strong, so he curls on top of the table in the office space as he waits for the other workers to pour in.

Donghyun, Daehwi, and Youngmin drive with him to the bakery, so of course they come in first. Sewoon bikes to work, so he comes into the office next wearing his floral pattern helmet and parking his bicycle by Donghyun’s desk. (“You’re my personal lock,” he’d say, when Donghyun would ask why he couldn’t just keep it outside. Donghyun still hadn’t been satisfied at the answer, more focused on the mud Sewoon tracks inside.) Haknyeon and Euiwoong enter not long after, having a small squabble over what to do for Euiwoong’s birthday. Jihoon bursts through the door, too, screaming obnoxiously for no real reason except to piss off Daehwi. It works.

By eight, everyone is in the office space except for Hyungseob. They’ve held back the meeting for fifteen minutes and Hyungseob isn’t answering his phone. Donghyun and Youngmin are worrying about Hyungseob’s health and wellbeing, but Euiwoong assures that it’s probably nothing.

Then, Hyungseob comes crashing through the door, hair in a complete disarray, outfit an uncoordinated mess.

“Sorry I’m late!” he shouts, catching his breath. He tries to pat down his hair, but it doesn’t have the slightest effect. “I got held up by something.”

“You look like you got hit by a truck,” Haknyeon observes. He grows concerned when Hyungseob doesn’t respond. “ _Did_ you get hit by a truck?”

Hyungseob rolls his eyes. “No, you heathen. I’d be cursing at you from a hospital bed if I had been.” He drops onto a chair, slumping. He pouts. “Our apartment got flooded.”

“Holy crap! That’s terrible!” Jihoon exclaims. Similar sentiments pass around the room.

“ _That_ ’s what that was?” Euiwoong says, shocked. Haknyeon squeezes his hand. “We live right next door. We heard a commotion, but usually that’s Zhengting hyung doing extreme stretching. I never imagined it could even flood.”

“Lucky it wasn’t us,” Haknyeon notes.

Hyungseob sighs heavily. “Justin and Zhengting hyung are salvaging what they can. All our chargers were ruined, half my notebooks, some of my favorite shoes...” Woojin comes behind him to pat his shoulder consolingly. Hyungseob smiles weakly. “The maintenance guys said it’ll take two days, at least, to get everything up to code.”

“Where will you stay?” asks Donghyun. “You can’t stay in your apartment.”

Youngmin snorts, “Obviously.”

Hyungseob slinks lower. “Justin and Zhengting hyung have a friend close to their university. Seunghyeok hyung, I think. He has a futon and will probably share a bed with one of them.” He shrugs. “I’m probably going to ask Daniel hyung. He’s by my dance studio. I think he has a free couch.”

Woojin frowns. He’d met Daniel not too long ago. Hyungseob had let him come to the dance studio last week, and Woojin was finally able to put a face to a name. A very handsome face, by the way. While Daniel’s appearance had appeared cool and aloof, one lame joke out of someone’s mouth would get his nose to crinkle and a cheeky laugh out of him. He has a mole under his eye, mocha-colored hair, and a dancing ability that rivals Jay Park. Quite the package. Daniel had greeted Woojin warmly, welcoming him to the studio, and it had become apparent right then and there that Daniel is a force to be reckoned with.

How can anyone be _that_ charming? If Hyungseob stays with him for who knows how long, he’ll surely fall in love again. Or, um, redevelop that preteen crush. Woojin won’t even have the opportunity to ask Hyungseob out! (Eventually.) Daniel may be dating Seongwoo, amateur model and beauty blogger, but that doesn’t mean Hyungseob won’t get pulled in by that good-looking dance god. No human would be able to resist Kang Daniel.

“You can crash at my place,” Woojin offers hastily. All heads swivel to him and he tries not to shrink from the attention. He glances at the guys who live with him, who are at varying levels of displeasure, and corrects, “Our place. Not just mine. Ours. A few minutes down the road. That one.”

Hyungseob straightens, mouth flapping open and closed, struggling for proper words. “A-Are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother,” he stammers. When Euiwoong snickers, Hyungseob kicks him from under the table.

“We’re... closer to the bakery. And if you run out of clothes, you can borrow mine,” Woojin reasons. It’s a surprise he’s able to be coherent. He’s _never_ this coherent, not even to his family. It took him four tries for him to tell his parents he was going to open a bakery. “The drive would be better, y’know. Is that okay?”

Hyungseob looks starstruck as he nods. “Ah,” he says. He grins. “Yeah. Thank you, Woojinnie.”

“You can drive home with Hyungseob, then,” suggests Donghyun. “Sewoon hyung, Youngmin hyung, and I are going to a movie later.”

“You two can go to dinner together!” Euiwoong adds. He seems mighty cheerful for all the death glares he’s getting from Hyungseob.

“That sounds good,” Woojin declares.

Hyungseob says quietly, “I know this really cool sushi restaurant downtown.”

“I’m down.” Woojin does a thumbs-up for good measure. It feels awkward, which is weird. The thumbs-up being awkward. That’s weird.

Jihoon clears his throat loudly, clapping his hands together. “No objections! Hyungseob chillin’ with Woojin! Okay! Now that that’s settled, let’s talk about bakery stuff!” He looks around the room, expectant. “Can I talk about this order I have to do today? I need a buddy. Any volunteers?”

“Why?” Youngmin asks.

“I want a buddy,” Jihoon says simply. “The car ride will be over two hours to and from. If I’m stuck in traffic by myself, I’ll be more inclined to throw myself out of the car. Nobody wants that.”

“I mean—”

“Woojin, please. I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

Jihoon ends up stealing Daehwi from the kitchen. There are protests from all fronts as Daehwi laments his displeasure. Four hours later, Daehwi returns to the bakery and says lifelessly, “Punch me in the face before Jihoon can take me anywhere.” There are six customers around, all of whom stare at him, aghast, as he drags himself to the kitchen.

“Our cakes are delicious!” beams Jihoon, smiling from ear to ear. “Violence is frowned upon at Sparrow. Thank you for choosing our bakery.”

Yeah, normal day.

——

When the bakery closes, all the workers go their separate ways. Everyone wishes the best for Hyungseob’s flooded apartment. Youngmin gives Hyungseob an entire coupon book for household repairs, which is greatly appreciated.

Woojin tags along with Hyungseob to the city. The sushi restaurant Hyungseob brings them to is in no way high-end, more so a hole-in-the-wall. That isn’t an insult, however. Woojin doesn’t have to worry about his shabby attire, covered in flour and food coloring, and the place is moderately quaint. The smell of freshly sliced fish is aromatic and, as a baker who works with sugars and chocolate all day, a savory change of pace. Woojin doesn’t realize he’s gaping until Hyungseob closes his mouth for him.

After they’re seated, they browse through the menu and figure out what they want to eat. Woojin likes that they have pictures of everything. He’s not sure if he could figure out what a _Philadelphia Sushi Roll_ was without a description and picture. He and Hyungseob decide to get a few rolls to share, a sashimi plate, and miso soups. Everything they order is mostly off Hyungseob’s recommendation.

“What if I don’t like it?” Woojin teases, sipping from his water.

Hyungseob huffs, “Then I’ll eat it all. You’ll watch me eat three pieces of sushi at once. I’ll drink the miso soup in one giant gulp. I’m paying anyway!”

“Says who?” prods Woojin.

“Says me.” Hyungseob smiles. “You’ll treat next time!” Woojin, perplexed, just laughs in response.

As the food arrives, Woojin dismisses the thought of ever not being able to like it. Hyungseob chuckles at Woojin’s reactions, which are mainly just him going wide-eyed and stuffing more food into his mouth. Hyungseob picks up pieces with his chopsticks and feeds them to Woojin, who does a little dance in his seat as he chews giddily. Hyungseob sneaks in a few photos and videos, which he swears on his Disney movie collection that he won’t share to the public.

“Protecting your image,” Hyungseob assures, recording a video of Woojin dancing to EXO as he eats a piece of the spicy tuna roll. “This’ll be for my eyes only. My enjoyment.”

That makes Woojin blush, and he hopes the dim lighting of the restaurant hides it.

They end up ordering two more rolls after they finish what they have, much to their server’s delight, although the same can’t be said for Hyungseob’s wallet. By the end of their meal, Hyungseob has to swat at Woojin’s hand from reaching for the bill. Hyungseob pays for the entire thing, Woojin voicing his complaints the entire ride to the apartment. Hyungseob brushes him off, skillfully changing the topic to movies they should go see over the weekend.

While they’re talking, Woojin is reminded of the other apartment residents. Daehwi is staying at Jinyoung’s apartment tonight, having promised to cook dinner and watch newly released music videos. Donghyun and Sewoon are out on a movie date, with Youngmin as the third wheel. The movie must be at least two hours, because Woojin’s phone is uncharacteristically quiet. His friends are too busy with their dates to make fun at him for hanging out with—

Wait.

Is he on a date with Hyungseob?

Dates are easy to describe. Usually there are two or more people. The parties involved have a good time, going out or staying inside, having fun in one another’s presence. And there are romantic feelings between the parties.

Woojin likes Hyungseob, likes him so much that the mere thought of being on a _date_ with Hyungseob makes his brain shut off for a few seconds. Hyungseob... _technically_ likes Woojin.

Well, there’s a definite friendship-like. Friendship-like doesn’t equate to a date, though.

Still, this arrangement gets Woojin eager. He and Hyungseob hanging out outside work, just the two of them, having fed one another food and maybe played footsie under the table. It’s the telling signs of a date, he thinks. Albeit, he’d been third-wheeling his friends while they were on their dates for years without a clue, so maybe he’s wrong. His “romantic sense” isn’t the best out of anyone, possibly the worst out of everyone he’s ever known.

So maybe Woojin is wrong. Maybe this isn’t a date. Maybe this is just two friends, one romantically pining and the other having only platonic feelings, going out for dinner. Sharing food. Teasing over the radio. Woojin carrying Hyungseob’s bag. Walking up the stairs together to Woojin’s apartment. The back of their hands touching as they climb. Every time Woojin looks at Hyungseob, Woojin’s heart races and he loses the ability to think rationally.

Before he realizes it, the words are tumbling out of Woojin’s mouth and making Hyungseob stop on the top stair.

“Hyungseob, can I ask you something?”

Smiling, Hyungseob nods. “Have at it, Boss.”

Woojin anxiously wets his lips. He looks down, clears his throat, and looks back up at Hyungseob, who waits patiently for Woojin to get his thoughts together.

“Was— Was this a date?”

Hyungseob sputters, blushing crimson. He looks like he’s going to trip over his feet, despite standing stationary, and avoids meeting Woojin’s imploring gaze. He runs his hand through his hair, shuffling his feet, heading in the direction of Woojin’s apartment.

“I-It’s only a date if y-you call it a d-date,” Hyungseob murmurs.

Woojin trails after him, lightly tugging on Hyungseob’s sleeve and stopping him. He doesn’t know where all this courage is coming from. Hyungseob’s reaction looks so real, genuine, like he’d give Woojin a chance if he just said it. So Woojin says it.

“Can I call this a date?”

Hyungseob whips his head to him, eyes blown to the size of saucers. His voice comes out almost inaudible as he whispers, “Excuse me?”

“I like you a lot, Hyungseob. I understand if you wouldn’t reciprocate my feelings, but I—” At this point Woojin is just rambling, his Busan accent unable to be hidden, stumbling and stammering over his words, “—want this to count as our first date.” He winces. “Whoa, wow, um. That sounds super selfish out loud. My bad.”

Woojin waits for Hyungseob to respond. It’s nerve-wracking, sweat-inducing, and Woojin would rather run the other way than keep waiting. Except his house is right here. And he’s already offered Hyungseob to stay the night, so. Not an option.

After what seems like years of silence, Hyungseob’s voice carries onto the air with a lilt. His smile, which Woojin should find other words other than “beautiful” to describe, spreads all the way to his eyes.

“You like me?”

“I.” Numbly, Woojin nods. “Yeah.” He nods again, in case Hyungseob hadn’t seen it the first time.

“This— This isn’t some elaborate prank by Euiwoong, is it? He’s done worse to me.” Hyungseob bites his lip. “You _like_ me?”

“I kissed you,” Woojin says. He backtracks. “Tried to. I tried to kiss you.” He coughs. “You were there.”

Hyungseob laughs. “I was,” he confirms. “I didn’t think you— you were _serious_. I was— Geez. Do you want to unlock the door? We can talk more inside.”

“Uh, sure.” Woojin punches in the code, looking between the keypad and Hyungseob. “Was that a yes on this being a date, or...?”

“Yeah,” Hyungseob beams. “This is our first date. I like you, too. Lots.”

Later, when Hyungseob and Woojin are brushing their teeth together in the bathroom, Hyungseob says, “We’re moving pretty fast in our relationship,” and Woojin proceeds to choke on a glob of toothpaste.

——

When Euiwoong and Haknyeon arrive at the bakery, Woojin and Hyungseob are blocking the front entrance of the building. Woojin is laughing at something Hyungseob had said, and across from him Hyungseob is looking smug as he swings Woojin’s hand. Haknyeon audibly goes “aw.”

“This is a fire hazard,” Euiwoong declares. “And if you, as our boss, are allowed to do PDA, then me and Haknyeon hyung should be able to—”

“Nope, nope. That won’t be a thing.” Woojin fishes his keys from his pocket and opens the door. “Get in, you sinners.”

When the rest of the bakery crew arrives, there isn’t much feedback after Hyungseob and Woojin officially announcing their relationship status. Hyungseob and Woojin are holding hands, bumping sides. They try to act nonchalant, even though both of them are definitely screaming internally.

Daehwi is the one to show the most enthusiasm, cheering, hugging them and crying, “Finally!” Right after, he takes out his phone and dials Jinyoung, who’s in the middle of a meeting but gives a quick “ _oh yes good_ ” before promising to call back.

The person who comes as a close second is Jihoon, who stands up and struts around the room, hands on his hips. “I don’t want either of you to be offended by what I’m about to say,” he begins, facing Hyungseob and Woojin. They frown. Jihoon spins around and asks, “Who had seven months?”

“No,” Woojin says, disbelieving.

“ _Yes!_ ” exclaims Sewoon, pumping his fists. He grins at Woojin. “This is my first win.”

“Seven months...?” Hyungseob echoes, confused, and then it clicks, a look of horror flashing across his face. “You were all betting on when we would _start_ dating?”

“This is the most legit bet of them all,” Youngmin proclaims, pulling out his wallet. “Actual money from everyone.”

“I had high hopes,” Donghyun sighs. He hands a considerable number of bills to Jihoon as he goes around collecting. “I was out after three months. I should’ve known it would take Woojin months to figure out his own feelings.”

Woojin scoffs, “You’re ridiculous.”

“I had very low hopes,” Haknyeon says. “Technically, if they break up and get back together in three years, then I win something.” Euiwoong hits him, and Haknyeon thins his lips. “But it’s true!”

“How much are you getting, Sewoon hyung?” Hyungseob asks.

Sewoon shrugs. “I put in 10,000 Won. If everyone put in that much...” He finger-guns at Donghyun. “Do the math, honey bun.”

“That’s 70,000 Won,” Donghyun says. Sewoon whoops.

“Shouldn’t we get some part of that?” Woojin says, gruff.

“You didn’t participate in the bet,” Daehwi says. “It’s only fair that all the money goes to Sewoon hyung.” Sewoon holds all the money in his hands and grins. “And, well, he looks so happy. Do you really want to take that away from him?”

Woojin relents. “You got any other bets we don’t know about?”

“There’s about to be one on me,” Jihoon announces. There’s a determined look on his face as he rubs his hands together schemingly. “When will I capture Kim Samuel’s heart.”

“I’m putting down three weeks,” Donghyun starts. “Uh, I wager... a box of Chocopies.” Sewoon stares at him. “Make that two boxes, and I’m combining with Sewoon.” Sewoon giggles.

“Two months,” Youngmin adds. “One bag of family-sized Cheetos.” Haknyeon narrows his eyes at him. “An _unopened_ bag.”

More offers go around the room, with more and more obscure items. Hyungseob takes the call for ten months, offering a liter of Sprite. Eventually, it’s Woojin’s turn to make his guess.

“Is there a ‘never’ option?”

Jihoon isn’t amused. “If you weren’t my boss, I would literally slap you. Actually, the bakery isn’t open yet. C’mere, you jerk.”

Hyungseob shields Woojin before Jihoon can get to him. That— That’s true affection right there. Woojin is more smitten than ever.

**Author's Note:**

> -inspired by ahn hyungseob's legendary [meringue time](https://youtu.be/mRYQ_8NaPrA) (see the playlists i compiled of all the trainees who [failed](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQr81UyYqhZLz6bSJRy_hNmUchH6Vl1u0) & [succeeded](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQr81UyYqhZJm_avM2WTqz_s68kyvzLHy))  
> -this was originally supposed to go into the [The Drabble Trashcan™](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10999437/chapters/24501759) but i got wildly carried away  
> -i still don't know if i even like this fic but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> -check out [my tumblr](http://www.whateverbroski.tumblr.com/) where all i do is scream in the tags  
> -tag urself i'm sewoon


End file.
